Introduction:
One of the worst restrictions you can have on your muscle building journey is weak grip strength, grip strength is the everything when it comes to more challenging exercises and lifting heavier weights. And I don't want anybody in this community to have to resort to using wrist straps unless they absolutely need to. So if you're having a hard time building more muscle in your forearms or weak grip strength is holding you back for more intense workouts, then these six tips are perfect for you.
But before we get started, be sure to turn on post notifications so you never miss a new video upload from my blogger website , but make sure you do it now because after these tips you might not be able to move your fingers very well. Number one, stop using wrist straps if you're the kind of person who immediately goes after.
STOP USING WRIST STRAPS!
(1) wrist straps for rows, lat pull downs, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, barbell shrugs, or basically any exercise that requires you to use your grip strength. Well then of course you're going to have poor grip strength and your forms are going to be lagging areas on your body. You need to be pushing yourself as hard as you can every chance he get. Now obviously if you have weak grip strength and have been using wrist straps to lift a lot of weight,
(2) it wouldn't be smart for you to drastically lower your weights in all your exercises just so you can stop using wrist straps. So what you need to do is start only using wrist straps when you absolutely need them. One thing you can try for example, is if you're doing four sets of a barbell bent over row, don't use wrist straps in the first two sets. This way you can train your forearms in grip strength and then on the last two
(3) sets, use the straps if you need them to lift heavier weights. This way you're not completely neglecting your forearms or holding yourself back on your barbell rows, but I do want to say one more thing here. If you really want to strengthen your forearms, you need to push through the intense burning sensation that occurs when you grip strength starts to fail during a set. For example, one exercise that really destroys my forearms is reverse lat pull downs.
Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldowns:
They burn like crazy, especially when I'm doing, my burn sets, but because they hold onto the barbell as hard as I can on every single rep of each set, even to the point to where only my fingertips are hanging on. I have been able to really develop great forearms and more grip strength, so push through the pain guys. Number two, you jerk the weight and not doing any actual forearm training.
STOP JERKING THE BARBELLS!
(1) When you're training your forearms, you need to understand that mind muscle connection will still play a key role in order to stimulate growth and build strength. You can't just jerk the weight around and expect results. You're not here to sexually arouse the rest of the dumbbells or barbell that are on the rack by doing this in front of them, it's not going to do anything for you. You need to train with slow and control the motions, and you also need to utilize the full range of motion of each forearm exercise
(2) with not just your wrist but your hands and fingertips as well. All right guys, so for example, let's take a look at the barbell wrist curl, to perform this exercise what you're going to do is get a barbell, sit on the edge of a bench, and then once in place, put your hands in the middle just like this. I usually keep mine about an inch apart from each other. Then what you're going to do is you're going to hang your risks off the edge of the bench just like this while pushing your forearms down, okay?
(3) You don't want to have your forearms in the air, keep them down just like this. Once in place, you're going to drop your risks as much as you can, and as soon as they're fully descended, what you're going to do is then let the barbell roll out to your fingertips as far as you can, and then bring it back in nice and slow, and then come to the top of the movement and then squeeze as hard as you can at the top. Getting a real nice forearm contraction,
(4) and that's one repetition. So it's very different than doing this, okay guys, it's all the way down to the fingertips, all the way back up and then squeeze as hard as you can. As you guys can see, just after a few reps, you've already got more muscle fibers contracting and responding than if you were just to jerk the barbell around with momentum for 30 repetitions.
(5) Remember, if you do 30 reps really fast, you're only feeling the pump because blood is rushing to the area. Now, even though the pump feels great, this doesn't always mean you're building muscle, especially in cases like this. Tip number three, train your forearms on leg day.
TRAIN FOREARMS ON LEG DAY:
- Guys when training upper body, if you're not using wrist straps and are always squeezing the barbells and dumbbells as hard as you can during every rep of every set, then there is really no need to have a forearm day as they're going to get plenty of stimulation through all of that. Personally,
- I never trained my forearms for this very reason. However, if your forearms and grip strength is severely lagging and you want to do some extra training to make them bigger and stronger than you should train them on leg day and superset your forearm exercises with all your leg exercises. For example, if you're performing barbell squats,
Barbell Squat:
(1) as soon as you finish your set, instead of resting for 60 to 90 seconds, grab a barbell and start doing wrist curls. This works out great because you really don't need to worry about grip strength on any leg exercises, even if you're performing stiff leg Romanian dead lifts. I personally would recommend that you do use wrist straps on these exercises to keep the focus on your hamstrings but do your best to do as many sets as you can without them. Of course. However,
(2) if your grip strength gives out though and you want to move up in weight, then it's okay to use the straps. It's just you got to just see what you can handle at that time and then just go with it. So here is an example forearm workout and when it comes to putting together an actual forearm program, guys, all you really need is wrist curls to work the flexors and reverse wrist curls to work the extensors. And you can do these two exercises in a variety of ways, but for me, nothing beats using a barbell.
(3) So exercise one is the seated barbell wrist curl. Very simple. Six sets of 15 reps rest 45 to 60 seconds between sets. Exercise two is going to be a seated reverse barbell wrist curl, six sets, 15 repetitions, resting 45 to 60 seconds between your sets and guys. You can also do these exercises standing as well. So standing barbell wrist curl or standing barbell reverse wrist curl.
Standing Reverse Barbell Wrist Curl:
And another thing if you want to super, set your forearms with your leg workout. Then after you perform one set of an exercise for your legs, super set the barbell wrist curls with the reverse barbell curls for one set and do this eight to 10 times throughout your leg. Workout number for use bar grips.
USE BAR GRIPS:
- Bar grips are great because they can be attached to Barbells or dumbbells. on pretty much any exercise and what they do is increase the size of the handle. Now there's a lot of research that backs up how training with bigger handles stimulates more muscle growth. So this is something you should definitely check out. But for now I will give you guys a quick rundown. So number one, when you use bar grips
- you're going to increase the muscle activation throughout the exercise. Thicker handles stimulate more muscle activation in the hands, forearms, upper arms, and pretty much the entire upper body. So if you're getting more muscle activation, then you will be getting bigger muscle and strength gains from your workouts. Number two, they make you focus more on concentration during your reps. and this is because thicker bars are harder to handle, so you need to concentrate a lot harder to perform your exercises. So guys,
- if mind muscle connection is a problem for you, using grips like these can definitely help you out. Another great benefit is that they help unlock more muscle gains. This is because thick bars make your hands, fingers and forearms so much stronger that this means your body can finally stop holding back the strength and muscle gains and your upper arms back and chest. You're only as strong as how much weight you can hold. So if you could hold more weight than it should be obvious that you'll be able to lift more in all your exercises.
- Another great thing about bar grips is that they're automatic forearm trainers. So because you're training with thicker buys, this means you're training your grip strength the entire time you're using them and it should go without saying that you won't have to set time aside to specifically train your forearms. Number five, stretch your forearms between sets to avoid cramping. Now,
STRETCH FOREARMS BETWEEN SETS:
(1) this one is pretty obvious guys, intense forearm training can result in tight forearms is specially if you're not used to doing a lot of intense forearm training. So it's a great idea to stretch them after each set. And the easiest way to do this is to simply place your hands together just like this. So put all your fingertips together and do this in front of your body like this.
(2) Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds. And then after you're done, rotate your hands down as much as you can and hold this for 10 to 15 seconds. As soon as you finish that, you're going to repeat the same motion. But this time instead of doing fingertips, you're going to push the tops of your hands together just like this. You know,
(3) hold this for 10 to 15 seconds and then rotate them down like that. Hold this for another 10 to 15 seconds and you're done. And if you do these four stretches between each set, you shouldn't feel too tight throughout your workout and the final tip for bigger forearms and more strength gains is you guys need to switch up your.
SWITCH UP YOUR TRAINING METHODS:
- training to keep them growing like the calves, guys, your forearms experience a lot of low intensity activation throughout the day from daily activities. With this in mind, it would be a great idea to keep them always guessing by switching up your rep schemes from time to time.
- This is because we use our hands all day long just like your calves so they can become very adaptive to whatever forearm workout you're doing. So really easy guys, just take my example workout from earlier and for three to four weeks, utilize 10 to 12 reps per set and then switch to 20 to 25 reps per set for the next three to four weeks and repeat.
- I hope this video really helped you out and I'm sure in no time you'll be seeing more gains in both grip strength and forearm muscle size. Be sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Leave your comments down in the comment section below and as always, more good stuff coming soon. See you guys.
Forearm Tips & Workout:
| # | Tips for Bigger Forearms & Grip Strength | Full Forearm Workout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Compound Exercises - Incorporate compound movements like deadlifts and farmer's walks to engage forearms. | - Deadlifts: 4 sets x 6-8 reps |
| 2 | Isolation Exercises - Include specific forearm exercises such as wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. | - Wrist Curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps |
| 3 | Grip Training Tools - Utilize grip trainers, grippers, or fat grips to enhance grip strength. | - Reverse Wrist Curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps |
| 4 | Frequency and Consistency - Train forearms regularly, at least 2-3 times per week, for optimal results. | - Farmer's Walks: 3 sets x 30 seconds |
| 5 | Varied Grips - Incorporate different grip positions, like overhand and underhand, to target different forearm muscles. | - Hammer Curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps |
| 6 | Forearm Stretching - Include stretching exercises to improve flexibility and prevent injury. | - Plate Pinch: 3 sets x 30 seconds |
Forearm Strength: Tips & Workout FAQS:
1 Question: Why is grip strength critical for average fitness?
Answer: Grip power is crucial for numerous sporting activities and sports. It enhances common strength, promotes higher performance in weightlifting, and decreases the hazard of harm. Additionally, a sturdy grip is critical in day by day obligations and sports outside the health club.
2 Question: What sporting activities can efficaciously goal the forearms for muscle growth?
Answer: Incorporate physical activities consisting of wrist curls, opposite wrist curls, farmer's walks, and plate pinches into your recurring. These moves mainly goal the forearm muscle mass, helping to growth length and energy through the years.
3 Question: How often must one teach their forearms for superior consequences?
Answer: Aim for 2-3 forearm exercises in keeping with week, permitting sufficient time for healing. Overtraining can preclude progress, so it is important to strike a stability. Pay interest on your body's response and alter the frequency as wished.
4 Question: Are grip power and forearm size directly correlated?
Answer: While there may be a correlation between grip energy and forearm size, they don't usually flawlessly align. Some people may also obviously have a strong grip with out sizable forearm length, and vice versa. However, targeted forearm training can contribute to each stepped forward grip energy and length.
5 Question: Can normal objects be used to enhance grip strength at domestic?
Answer: Absolutely. Common household objects like towels, pressure balls, or even thick pens can be used for grip-strengthening sporting activities. For example, appearing towel hangs or squeezing a pressure ball frequently can help decorate grip energy with out the want for specialized gadget.
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